Senators Agree to Preserve Treasury's Emergency Powers

Move Will Have Implications for Next Debt-Limit Debate

WASHINGTON—Senate negotiators have agreed not to prevent the Treasury Department from using emergency measures to avoid default in the future, congressional aides said, a big win for the White House that will have implications the next time Congress debates whether to raise the country's borrowing limit.

Senate negotiators are working on a deal that would extend the government's borrowing limit until Feb. 7, 2014. In the past, the Treasury Department has taken steps, such as suspending certain pension payments, to give the...